According to Zhelly, while Anime Expo allowed artists to set up their tables for the first time during Day 0, or Wednesday, June 29th, Kentia Hall was “boiling hot” and the lone drinking fountain was inoperable. 2016 was Zhelly’s fifth time at Anime Expo and has sold at Artist Alley every year. The most concerning account came from artist Zhelly Zee, who fainted while tabling in Artist Alley and needed emergency medical attention. Attendees were also fanning themselves as they were through the alley. If it was too hot for me in plain t-shirts and shorts, I can’t imagine what it was like for full costumed cosplayers. The chairs were uncomfortable, and the AC was definitely not powerful enough to compete with the sheer amount of foot traffic in the area for the first two days. Me w/o the fan on when dungeon oven’s ac dies down /kTsiWfINsdĢ) tabletop gaming did not need that much space in kentia hall, please give artist alley bigger aislesĪnother artist, speaking under the request to remain anonymous, noted during Day 1, Thursday, June 30th: T_T I’ve been getting so dizzy bc of the parking garage lmao I can’t believe my friend is getting rashes from just being in artist alley at AX. I ended up nearly having an anxiety-induced meltdown bc of all the people and the pushing and the shoving. This no ac artist alley making my stomach hurt more They also informed me that the reason for the AC situation was that AX management was trying to keep to a budget and save on operating cost.Īs noted by the following tweets corroborating Chang’s account, Artist Alley’s occupants experienced a range of dissatisfaction: I was told that as staff, they aren’t able to affect any changes on the way AX is run, and that if I had a complaint, I should fill out a form at the HQ desk because the management chain would listen more to artist complaints than staff complaints. I complained to a staff member, asking if there was any way they could please turn the AC on or if it was on, to turn it up higher. My skin was sticking to itself and nearly every attendee that walked past my table was furiously fanning themselves with a paper fan or a program book. The number of bodies in a cramped space combined with the physical structure of Kentia Hall made the entire place feel like a sauna. AC was running, although softly, and we waited for attendees to fill the room. Setup hours on day 2 felt like the air flow had improved. It was significantly cooler outside Kentia Hall, and even significantly cooler outdoors upon exiting the convention. While this continued for a few hours, the air flow had all but stopped by early afternoon, and quickly heated up into an unbearable temperature. When I complained to a staff member, they assured us that there would be AC in the room, and sure enough, around 11am I could feel a very light breeze in my area. While I cannot be a primary source of Day 0’s conditions, the temperature during setup hours on Day 1 was hot, muggy, humid, and generally miserable. In an open letter posted on Tumblr, Finni describes Artist Alley’s conditions: Despite this, artists and attendees alike tweeted concerning accounts of poor conditions and general dissatisfaction throughout the show.įinni Chang, a 10-year veteran artist, was the most prominent voice in reporting the conditions in Artist Alley through Twitter. The larger dedicated space for Artist Alley seemed to be a step in acknowledging its importance and growth as a staple of the event. Kentia Hall is equipped as a fully functional and air conditioned exhibitor space with an occupancy of 9,000, according to the official LACC brochure. Located below South Hall, Kentia Hall is a 162,000 sq ft space, often found in previous AX events as a secondary parking structure. Housed in the Los Angeles Convention Center’s South Hall, the Exhibit Hall became fully dedicated to professional vendors and exhibitors.Īrtist Alley was relocated to Kentia Hall to be housed alongside table top gaming and guest autograph sessions. According to an official press release, the Exhibit Hall expanded by 40%, taking over the space Artist Alley had occupied in prior years. With the growth of Anime Expo over the years, it was the decision of the convention to relocate Artist Alley to another location. With a record breaking increase in size and scale, 2016’s Anime Expo found itself under scrutiny from artists and exhibitors who raised concerns over the conditions in the location of this year’s Artist Alley.Īrtist Alley is the area where amateur and semi-professional artists exhibit and sell their handcrafted work, which include, but not limited to, original artwork, prints, crafts, small press publications, and clothing.
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